Incognito
by HolmesianDeduction
Summary: What if Snape hadn't meant to kill Dumbledore?  What if he decided to abandon both sides of the fight?  What if he fled to the US & disguised himself, not as a wizard, but as a Muggle?  And what would happen if the American WFBI already knew who he was?
1. Renegade

_--Heathrow Airport; London, England—August 13__th__, 1997._

"One ticket for New York, please."

Glancing up, the stewardess came face to face with a singularly odd-looking man. He was of medium height with narrow, sloping shoulders that gave him a slightly sickly appearance. His pallid, angular features were framed by longish, jett-black hair that he kept tied loosely back, and as she looked into his cold, obsidian eyes, she felt a flicker of fear form in her chest. "Er," she stammered a little, "Which flight, sir?"

Looking momentarily startled, the man glanced around nervously, as if he was looking to see who might be watching. "The soonest one possible," he replied sharply, "I'm on urgent business."

Glancing back down at her computer screen, she bit her lip, "The next flight to New York leaves in an hour sir. Would you like to buy a ticket?"

"Yes," the man replied distractedly, "I think I'll do that."

"I'll need your name sir."

At this, he started. "Name?" he murmured, "It's, er…Tobias Scarr."

As the woman handed him his ticket and he sat down, 'Tobias' grimaced. When he had made his plans for escape, he had not taken this into account. Still, he mused, it was ironic that he should temporarily assume the first name of one of the few people he hated more than himself. It didn't matter though. Tobias Snape was dead.

Running one hand through his unusually (at least for him) silky hair, he sighed inwardly. _I should have never taken that damnable oath,_ he thought to himself, _I never thought it would come to this…if only her sister hadn't been there insisting on the blasted thing, this would've never happened._ Glancing at his pocket watch, he grabbed his bag and walked toward the terminal.


	2. Unwanted

"_Leave him alone Tobias!" the tall, red-haired woman glared at her husband defiantly, "he hasn't done anything wrong!"_

_From his hiding place, the young boy watched the blood splatter the wall as his father struck her once, twice, three times until she crumpled to the floor. Looking around, the man scowled, his solid black eyes gleaming feverishly in his skull. "SEVERUS!" the man called out into the darkness, his voice a raspy shout, "SEVERUS! Where the hell are you, boy?! I know you're watching!! Come out here!!" When the boy failed to appear, he narrowed his eyes, "Fine! Watch this from your burrow, you little shit!!"_

_Pulling a gun from a pocket in his coat, the man fired once, twice, three times into his wife's body and then put a bullet in his own brain. After several moments, the boy crept out of his hiding space and looked around the room with hollowed eyes. "Mother?" he whispered, his voice coming out as a soft rasp, "Mother, are you all right?"_

_Slipping in a pool of blood, he fell over his mother's body and winced as he felt a pair of cool hands fall onto his shoulders. "Sir?" a voice said softly, "Sir…"_

"Sir," the stewardess shook his shoulder, "sir, the plane's been back on the ground for over an hour, you have to get off the plane."

Blinking, he shook off the last remnants of the dream and looked around to find that the plane was completely empty except for him. Gathering his things, he stepped out of the plane and into the crowded hangar.

Everywhere around him, people were running around meeting each other and reminding him of why he hated airports. Seeing people purely happy to see each other, if only for one perfect moment, only served to remind him of how completely and utterly alone he was in the world.

Smoothing down his clothes, he quickened his pace and boarded the bus that would take him to his destination.


	3. Solitude

_--A bus somewhere between New Jersey and Boston; August 14__th__, 1997._

"Hey, is this seat taken?"

Glancing up, Severus saw a smiling woman with platinum blonde hair looking at him expectantly. Shrugging helplessly, he sighed as the woman sat herself down beside him and began talking at a rapid clip. Finally, she paused, "So, what's your name? Where are you going?"

Gritting his teeth, he mumbled a response, "My name is Tobias Scarr, and where I'm going is none of your business, thank you."

"Oh!" the woman's eyes lit up upon hearing him speak, "I love your accent! I think that British accents are sooo sexy!"

Narrowing his eyes, he glared at her, "And _I_ think that you're one of the most blasted annoying people I've ever had the misfortune of sitting with!"

Giving him a sour expression, the woman drew back her hand to slap him, but he caught her wrist in midair. Producing a small flask from his jacket, he offered it to her. "Look, I'm sorry I snapped at you, but I had a rough plane ride over here. Would you like a drink?"

Smiling, the woman took the flask from him and took several swigs from it over the next hour or so, never noticing that he never once drank a drop.

Several hours later, as everyone exited the bus; he removed the flask from the woman's lifeless fingers and slipped it back into a pocket in his coat. It was a dreadful waste of potion, but he could always make more later.


	4. Shadow

_--Boston University; Boston, Massachusetts; August 28__th__, 1997._

Glancing up from his desk to look at the students shuffling in, Severus Snape sighed inwardly. His decision to duck out of the magical world was already starting to haunt him. Finally, as the last couple of students settled down, he stood up from his seat to survey the room. Most of them looked rather bored, if they were paying attention at all. As he started pacing the front of the room, he looked from face to face, taking note of who was or wasn't paying attention until he finally found the one, solitary student who _was_ paying attention sitting alone in one corner of the room.

She was older than most of the other students, perhaps in her mid-twenties, with a pale complexion that only served to accentuate her chiseled, almost aristocratic features which were unmarred except by a long, rather grisly scar that started at her left temple and eventually vanished into her collar. Her face was framed by longish black hair with several jagged grey streaks in it, and her eyes where an inscrutable obsidian colour not unlike his own. As if feeling his eyes on her, she looked up and their eyes met briefly before he found himself forced to look away.

Looking around the room one more time, he straightened his suit and started speaking, "Good morning. My name is Professor Tobias Scarr. You will address me only as Professor Scarr if you value your grade in this class. Also, just because I am new on this campus, this does not mean that I am clueless to your little games. I am warning you now, and only now: do not make the mistake of crossing me." He paused, "With that said, I should hope you are prepared for this course."

Whipping his head around, he glared at a group of girls sitting in one corner. "You there!" he singled out a girl in the group, "What's your name?"

"Lisa Robinson," the girl replied, "Why?"

Tapping his foot irritably, Severus narrowed his eyes, "Well, Miss Robinson, since you think it's okay to talk during my class, it seems I must make an example of you. Come up here to the front." As the girl crept up to the front of the class, he gestured for her to sit down on a stool. Producing a small vial from his sleeve, he held it in front of her face. "Drink this." When she shot him a terrified glance, he shook his head, "I promise you won't die. Just drink it."

Taking a deep breath, the girl tilted back her head and swigged the thin, silvery liquid from the vial with no visible ill effects. Smiling thinly, he turned to the girl, "So, Miss Robinson, what were you talking about with your little friends up there?"

As the entire room looked on in detached horror, she began to speak in a strangely disembodied voice that rang out in the room, "I was telling them about Brenden Johnston."

Glancing wryly at the student she was referring to, he continued, "And what were you telling them about young Mr. Johnston?"

At this, the girl paused momentarily, and then, "That I used to masturbate to his yearbook picture in high school."

As a gasp emerged from the rest of the class, Snape smiled in a sort of grim satisfaction, "That will be quite enough, Miss Robinson." Waving a long-fingered hand in front of her face, he stood her up and sent her back to her seat. "Have chapters one through five of your text read by Monday. There will be a test. Class dismissed."


	5. SubRosa

"Using veratiserum on a student on a whim…" unlacing her boots, Leila Silvanos shook her head derisively, her grey-streaked black hair falling in her face, "how unprofessional."

She had been undercover for less than a week, and she was already tiring of the catty girls who populated the campus. They all thought of themselves as women, but not a one of them truly understood the full meaning of the word. Not a one of them had ever been through half of what she had endured, and that wasn't even counting her training as an agent for the W.F.B.I., the wizarding division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Brushing these thoughts aside, she opened up her laptop computer and pulled up her quarry's profile.

_Name: Severus Snape._

_Aliases: Tobias Scarr._

_Gender: Male._

_Birth Date: January 9th, 1960._

_Height: Approx. 6ft._

_Weight: Approx. 160lbs._

_Hair Colour: Black._

_Eye Colour: Black._

_Notes: Subject is highly dangerous. Use extreme caution._

_Severus Snape (aka. Tobias Scarr) is a former death eater and professor at the Hogwarts School of Magic and Wizardry in the UK. Snape's specialty lies with potions and poisons, though he is highly skilled in other areas as well. His cover is suspected to be in the education field._

Closing the computer, Leila shook her head—there was more to this man than the profile let on.

Tugging her hair free, she sighed and went to go take a shower. She was going to have a long next few weeks.


	6. Undertow

_--September 10__th__, 1997._

"Miss Silian," Leila glanced up at the sound of Professor Scarr's voice, "Miss Silian, could you stay after class please?"

Cocking an eyebrow, she looked around the room at the eyes staring at her. "Yes Professor Scarr," she sighed.

She had been undercover for over a month now, and she found herself perplexed by the unique character Snape appeared to be. It was very hard for her to see him as anything more malignant than the sharp-tongued chemistry professor he presented himself as, and even harder for her to believe he was really the man who had single-handedly murdered one of the most powerful wizards in England, and gotten away with it.

Later, as the rest of the students filtered out of the room, Leila stayed seated until she felt a presence beside her. Turning her head, she found herself face to face with the chiseled features and ebony eyes of Severus Snape—eyes that were too much like her own for comfort. "Well, Professor," she struggled to keep her voice level as she felt his eyes on her, "Why exactly did you want to speak with me?"

Smiling thinly, he glanced down at a non-existant piece of paper. "Miss Silian…I can't help but notice that you understand certain things that most other college students couldn't possibly understand…and because I think you can be trusted, I have to ask; do you, by any chance have any magical training?"

Hesitating, Leila stared at him for several minutes before replying, "Yes Professor. I am magus."

At this, his expression melded into a look of vague relief. "So I was right," he murmured, then: "It does get rather lonely being the only mage on campus. Would you mind accompanying me to dinner?"

Raising an eyebrow, she gave him a startled look, "Professor, that's a tad over the line don't you think?"

"What?" he looked irritated for a moment, then: "Not like that! I just need someone to talk to from time to time, and you seem to be the only person who would understand."

Sighing, she shook her head, "All right, Professor…I'll give you the benefit of the doubt…where're we meeting?"

Glancing at his watch, he nodded, "How about the café downtown in say….an hour and a half?"

Leila nodded, "Sure thing, Professor. See you then."

As she turned to leave, he called after her, "Oh, and Miss Silian?" When she glanced back over her shoulder, he raised an eyebrow and added in a disinterested tone, "Feel free to just call me Tobias outside class…the whole 'Professor' thing is a bit stiff."


End file.
